Adult softball: Passing the torch

The names Steve Dimitry and Sullivan “Heels” Gelet mean an indescribable amount to area softball.

Their histories began to intertwine in the 70s, when Gelet nagged Dimitry for a number of years to play for him. Dimitry eventually did, and played under Gelet for a number of successful teams throughout the 80s, where they forged a strong bond.

“His team’s like family to me,” Dimitry said. “We had 12 guys for I don’t know how many years and we’re still close friends. It’s really unique.”

It’s only fitting that when Gelet steps down as District 14 Montgomery County Commissioner and as the Norristown League Director, he will pass the reins to Dimitry.

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In addition to being commissioner of District 14 and League Director, he’s been elected into the ASA of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame as a manager and administrator. He’s also in the Montgomery County Coaches’ Hall of Fame for his volunteer work for softball within the community.

While Gelet’s titles are extensive, the road to his accomplishments was forged out of happenstance and necessity more than anything else.

“When I got out the Navy in 1954,” Gelet said, “I just started out playing. Then from playing, somebody needed a manager, so I started managing.”

“Then,” Gelet continued, “somebody needed to start running the league, so I started running the league in 1980.”

In addition to playing under Gelet, Dimitry has also served as a player representative for the league, as well as his current Deputy Commissioner of District 14 title, making him a natural fit for the job once Gelet decides to step down.

“Probably the late 90s, I guess,” Dimitry said of when he realized that being commissioner of District 14 was something that was in his future. “I just kept going and got more involved. I met a lot of people. I enjoy it.”

“His knowledge is the biggest thing,” Gelet said of the strengths that Dimitry will have during his eventual tenure as Commissioner of District 14. “He can sit and mention records from the 1930s. Nobody in the world is as knowledgeable as he is about local and national softball. To me he’s an asset.”

The biggest thing that Dimitry has learned from Gelet is being humble while being in charge.

“He was a player, and I was a player,” Dimitry said. Gelet picked up from a Dimitry pause and added, “We treat everybody the way we’d want to be treated; not as superiors, but as equals.”

Dimitry doesn’t plan to make many ripples to the status quo during his tenure. Both Gelet and Dimitry agree that separating the playoffs appropriately based on division was one of the most significant changes that Gelet made, and Dimitry sees that as the most important thing to maintain moving forward.

“A team could take second place in the C division, and they could get destroyed in the playoff game,” Dimitry said. “The first thing (Gelet) did was make three separate playoffs, that way you get to win your own league, and make it something to be proud of.”

Also among the most important things that Gelet did during his tenure is learn to adapt to the league’s divisional needs, keeping the divisions of teams fair in terms of the level of play.

“The hardest part is keeping it even,” Dimitry said. “He’s gone from three divisions to sometimes five divisions, depending on how many teams we had in the league.”

“That’s what we see continuing,” Gelet added. “I don’t see having any problems.”

“Another thing,” Dimitry said of something else that they’ve worked to improve “is getting younger kids up into the higher divisions. Before, you basically had to know somebody to play in a higher league. If you didn’t know anybody, you didn’t get a shot to play no matter how good you were.”

Neither of the men knows when Gelet will decide to hang up his spikes, but they both feel that they’ll be ready and that the league won’t have any problems weathering the change.

“As for stepping down,” Dimitry said of the remaining length of Gelet’s tenure, “honestly, there is no time table. The district commissioner job is his for as long as he wants it. He has earned that right.”

“When the time comes, it won’t be planned,” Dimitry continued. “He’ll wake up one day and say ‘Kid, I think I’ve had enough. It will be as simple as that.”

“People just love to come down and play,” Gelet said. “It’s going to continue that way when I’m gone and when (Dimitry’s) gone. It’s just the way it is.”

“Norristown softball is like family,” Dimitry later said. “Heels is the one that created that atmosphere. I have extremely big shoes to fill.”